Protector and smash-preventing mechanism for looms



June 24-, 1924-.

J. F. LEHMAN ET AL.

PROTECTOR AND SMASH PREVENTING MECHANISM FOR LOOMS Filed Aprii 1/1 Afro/mus e/AME s M M DAD/(Eb 2 Sheets-Sheet l WITNESSES June 124, 1924. v 1,498,847

, J. F. LEHMAN ET AL PROTECTOR AND SMASH PREVENTIMG MECHANISM F OOOOO MS v ATTORNEYS- Patented June 24, 1924;

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JOHN rnnncaro LEHMAN AND Jan/ ns ILLIAM -1VIcDA-1\TIELL, 0F wrisrnimrsvrnnn ALABAMA; SAID Menamnn ASSIGNOR-JIO SAID Lana ran.

PROTECTOR AND SMASH-PREVENTING MECHANISM FOR LOOMS.

Application filecLApril 14, 1923. 'SeriaINo. 632,068.

To all whom itmay concern:

Be it known that we, JoHN FBEDRTC LEU- MAN and JAMES lVILLIArnMoDANmL, citi Zens of the United States, and residents of West Huntsville, in thecounty of Madison and State of Alabama, have invented. certain new and useful'lmprovements in Pro tectors and Smash-Preventing 'Mechanisms for Looms, ofwhich the following is-a speci fication.

Our invention relates to improvements in looms. dealing particularly with improvements in the mechanism by which a so-called shuttle smash is prevented.

An object of the invention is to provide protecting means for a loom which will cause the stopping ofthe loom immediately upon the happening of any false operation in-the throwing of the shuttle whetherthis false operation consistsof the absence o'fa shuttle in either box, the collisio-nof two shuttles in the warp shed or'the presence of a shuttle in each box.

A further object of the invention is to provide a protectormechanism 'foraloom which operates automatically to stop the loom upon the happening of any of the'foregoing occurrences. y

A further object of the invention'is to provide a protector mechanism "for"loom.s which will prevent the damage tot-he cloth resulting from what is commonly known as a two shuttle smash by causing the stop.- ping of the loom under sucha condition in which two shuttles are likely to'be thrown through the warp'shed from opposite ends of thelay beam. v

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying .drawings,in which:

Fig, 1 is an end elevation of only somuch of a loom as is necessary to illustrate the application of the improved protector mechamsm,

Fig. 4t is an inverted perspective view illustrating the same position of parts in 5 onto the loose pulley 4'. is pivoted at 15 beneath the breast beam.

Fig. 3 but clearly-showing the particular positions of the various cams, and

Fig. 5 isa detail plan view illustrating the relation; of the-knocli-ofi' or hunter-lever to the shipper handle. 'Theconstructionnecessarily involves some of the mechanism of the loom, but as stated before, onlyso much of a 100m is shown'in the drawings as'is' necessary-to'illustrate the method of application and working of'the invention. The loom frame 1 carries --a shaft 2 which is tob'e considered the shaft bywhich the loom fdriven. This sha'ft carries two pulleys?) and 4 (Fig. 5),-the first being'fast on the shaft,- the other being loose. A 'beltfiisf-sho-wn applied to the fast pulley This belt is adapted 'to be shifted over onto the loose-pulley i-when' it becomes necessaryto-stop the loom as for examplein theevent of a-shuttle smash. The fork tl of a shipper armT partly embraces; the belt 5 so as to be able to shift the belt over onto the pulley 4 when the arm is moved toward the left-(Fight). The shipper arm 'may be part ofthe, shipper handle 8. The actual construction in p ractice ma'y be differenthut the principle of operation remains the same. The shipperrhandle 8 restsv ina recess 9 (Fig. -IS whenthe 'looni'is running. The recess has communication with a slot lO-jin a'bracket ,11 which is fastened adjacent to one end of the'breast beam 12. The-breast beam is situated at the front of; the loom. A spring 13 tends to' pull' th e handle 8 toward the left, and the tension ofthe spring is useful in keeping, the handle seated in the recess '9 during the operation offthe loom. A knock-off 0r hunter: lever 1' 4-'(Fig. 5) is adapted to unseat the shipper handle l from the recess 9' and thereby a permit the spring 13 to pull the handle toward the left andcausethe ;fork 6 "to shift the belt the particular construction of the head '16 of the'bunter lever. The V-groove 17 1s The '-'lever l4 provided for the particular purpose ofreceiving the point of the daggers 19 and 20 which, also, are parts of the invention.

The lay beam 18 is carried by arms 21 which are mounted on a pivot shaft 22 (Fig. 1) so that the lay beam may be swung back and forth between the positions in Figs. 1 and 2 by means of the crank 23 and connecting rod 24. The connecting rod joins the wrist pin of the crank with a pivot pin 25 situated at the back. of the lay beam. The shuttle 26 travels from side to side of the loom on the laybeam 19, being thrown from one end of the lay beam to the other by the usual picker-sticks 27, of which only 1 is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings merely for the purpose of giving an idea as to where they are located.

The shuttle 26 operates in front of the reed 28 which is situated between the lay beam and the hand rail 29. The warp threads 30 are manipulated by a suitable harness 31, and the shuttle 26 is thrown through the shed of the warp in order to insert the weft or filling in accordance with the customary manner. It is the pickersticks which throw the shuttle from side to side as described to accomplish this purpose. The shuttle is thrown from one shuttle box 32, at one end of the lay beam, to another shuttle box 33 at the opposite end of the lay beam.

Shuttle boxes are made differently in various types of looms. They are often made to accommodate more than one shuttle. The present illustration is confined to showing only one shuttle box at each end of the lay beam, the principle of operation of the invention. being identical regardless of the number of shuttle boxes which might be present in a loom.

Binders 34 and 35 in the respective shuttle boxes serve to hold the shuttle in place when received. The binders are pivoted at 36 (Fig. 3) and are pressed inward by springs 37. The presence of a shuttle in a particular box (32 for example) presses the binder 34 out against the tension of the spring 37 Mounted in a seriesof bearings 38, 39, 40 and 41 beneath the lay beam 18 is a pair of cam shafts 42 and 43. These are in axial alinement. They are adapted to turn separately but are also adapted to turn in unison in the event that each of the shuttle boxes 32 and 33 is occupied by a shuttle. The separate turning occurs when only one of the boxes is occupied by a shuttle.

These actions are performed by binder fingers 44 and 45 which are carried by the respective shafts 42 and 43 and bear against the binders 34 and 35. Figs. 2, 3 and 4 show the cam shaft-s 42 as having been turned by the outward. pressing of the binder 34 by the shuttle 26 in the box 32. The respective shafts 42 and 43 have pairs of cams 46, 47 and 48, 49. By virtue of their functions, the adjacent earns 47 and 48 are called depressor cams, while the cams 46 and 49 are called release cams.

In each instance, the pairs of cams are approximately 90 apart on the respective shafts. The cams 46 and 49 are situated beneath rockers 50 and 51 which are fixed at the ends of a dagger shaft 52. This shaft is supported in bearings 53 beneath the lay beam 18. The turning of the cam shaft 42 by virtue of the displacement of the binder 34 (Fig. 3) causes the release cam 46 to depart from. the rocker 50. The same turning of the shaft causes the depressor cam 47 to ride up under the flange '54 of the dagger 19 and cause the depression thereof into a position corresponding with that of the dagger 20. Both daggers will there fore pass beneath the head 16 of the hunter lever 14 on the forward motion of the lay beam. This is illustrated in Fig. 2.

The flange 54 of the dagger 19 carries a wedge 55 on the underside with which the depressor cam 47 contacts in the action just described. The other depressor cam 48 is also adapted to contact with this wedge. Such contact occurs when the binder finger 45 on the right end is displaced and the cam shaft 43 is turned as a consequence. A. spring 56 connected between the dagger 19 and a suitable mounting on the lay beam 18, tends to hold the dagger up and the wedge 55 in contact with one or both of the depressor cams 47 and 48. A spring 57, connected between the rocker 51 and a suitable mounting on the lay beam tends to rock the dagger shaft 52 so as to keep the rockers 50 and 51 in contact with the release earns 46 and 49.

The dagger 19 is loose on the shaft 52 and is depressed each time either the shaft 42 or 43 is turned. The flange 54, and consequently the wedge 55, is broad enough to cover both depressor cams 47 and 48 So that the depressing action of the dagger may be performed. The dagger 20 is fixed on the shaft 52. It always occupies a normally depressed position (Fig. 1) and rises to a position where it might engage the head 16 of the hunter lever 14 only when both binder fingers 44 and 45 are pressed outward by the presence of a shuttle in each box. The rais ing of the dagger 20 therefore happens only when both release cams 46 and 49 are dcpressed and the spring 57 is permitted to rock the rockers 50 and 51'into contact with said cams.

The operation may now be reviewed to advantage. The loom runs as long as the belt 5 (Fig. 5) is on the fast pulley The shaft 2 drives the loom and ultimately causes the turning of the crank 23 (Fig. 1) by to follow. contact with means of which the lay beam-18 is rocked back and forth on its pivot 22 through the connecting rod 24. The shuttle 26 is: thrown from one box 32 to the other 33 by means of picker sticks 27 of which one only is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The shuttle is thrown through the shed of the warp while the lay beam 18 is in the rear position, thus giving ample time for the transit of the shuttle while the warp is fully opened.

It often happens in looms which use a plurality of shuttles for inserting various colors of filling, that a collision of the shuttles will occur somewhere along the lay beam. This is commonly called a shuttle smash. This causes the destruction of apart of the warp and also injures one or both of the shuttles.

Should it so happen that both shuttle boxes 32 and 33 are vacant, as would be the case in the event of such shuttle smash, both binders 34 and 35 would be moved inward, permitting both binder fingers 44 and 45 The binder fingers are kept in the respective binders by springs 56 and 57. This causes both cams 47 and 48 to turn rearwardly, permitting the spring 56 to raise the dagger 19 into the position where it would engage the groove 17 of the head 16 and swing the hunter lever 14 (Fig. 5) to release the shipper handle 8 from the recess 9.

This action is suggested by the arrow a in Fig. l and also by the dotted line position in Fig. 2, although neither of these views is intended to illustrate the positions of the parts in a two-shuttle smash. The turning of the cam shafts 42 and 43 does not affect the position of the dagger 20. The points of the release cams 46 and 4-9 simply ride beneath the rockers 50 and 51, holding the latter up and the dagg r 20 down. It is only the dagger 19 which becomes operative to engage the head 16 of the hunter lever 14 and thereby stop the loom in the event of a two-shuttle smash.

It has been explained how the shuttle 26.

makes the transit across the lay beam 18 before the lay beam reaches the forward position in Fig. 2. Assuming the shuttle 26 to be in the box 32 at the left in Fig. 3, it is necessary that the shuttle be thrown across to the box 33 before the lay beam 18 assumes the position in Fig. 2. The presence of the shuttle in either box 32 or 33 will cause the turning of either cam shaft 42 or 43 so that one or the other of thedepressor cams 47 and 48 depresses the dagger 19 down into the normal plane of the dagger 20. This is shown in full lines in Fig. 2. It is in this position that the head 16 of the hunter lever 14 is avoided.

However, assume that instead of the shuttle 26. being thrown across to the box 33, it

that it fails to reach the. box 33. Both;

binder fingers 44 and 45 are therefore rocked inwardly (as in the case of the two-shuttle,

smash), both cam-s 47 and 48 are correspondingly turned, permittingthe spring 56, to. raise the dagger 19 into a position where it will engage the head 16 of the bunter lever and thus stop the loom.

This should before. The presence of a shuttle in each box will displace the binders 34 and 35 so that both cam shafts 42 and 43 are rocked, outward. Both release cams 46 and 49 therefore move forward and downward toward the observer in Fig. 3. The spring 57 causes the shaft 52 to turn so that the. rockers 50 and 51 both follow the cams, thereby causing the dagger 20 to rise to a;

position corresponding with that shown, in Fig. 1 and this dagger then being in position to move in the direction of the arrow (1, will engage the head 16 at; the groove 17., cause the hunter lever 14 to rock in the di-. rection of the arrow in Fig. 5. The shipperhandle 8 is released from the recess9, and the spring 13 causes the shipper handle to; move over in the slot 10 so that the fork 6' transfers the belt 5 onto theloose pulley 4.

While the construction and arrangementof the improved protector mechanism. as; herein described and claimed is that of a generally preferred form, obviously mod-1i: fications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

We claim 1. A lay having two cam shafts each'pnovided with a finger, binders with which each of the fingers coacts, a dagger shaft provided with a pair of daggers, and means,- carried by the various shafts adapted tohold one dagger in an inoperative position and alternately move the other dagger-into, a corresponding inoperative position.

2. A lay having two cam shafts eachprovided with a finger, binders with which each, of the fingers coacts, a dagger shaft, a pair. of daggers carried by the dagger shaft, means on each cam shaft adapted to keep one dag er in an inoperative position, means: on the dagger shaft with which said means. cooperate to perform the foregoing function, and means carried by the cam shafts adapted to alternately act to place the other 7 dagger in an inoperative position.

3. A lay having two cam shafts each provided with a finger, binders with which each." of the fingers coacts, a daggerv shaft, a pair of daggers carried by said shaft, rockers carried by the dagger shaft, means on the cam shafts adapted to engage the rockers to hold one dagger-in an inoperative position but also being adapted to simultane ously move away from the rockers to permit said daggers to move to an operative position, and means carried by both cam shafts being then adapted to move the other dagger to an inoperative position.

4. A lay having two cam shafts each provided with a finger, binders with which each of the fingers coacts, a dagger shaft, a pair of daggers carried by said shaft, a pair of rockers carried by said shaft, cams carried by each cam shaft adapted to engage the respective rockers and thereby hold one of the daggers in an inoperative position, said cams also being adapted to engage the rockers alternately corresponding with rocking movements of the cam shafts but still maintain said dagger in said inoperative position, and other cams carried by the respective cam shafts being adapted to move the other dagger into an inoperative position at each forward movement of one or both of the cam shafts.

5. In a loom having a lay, shuttle boxes and binders; two shafts each provided with a finger to coact with an adjacent binder, a pair of daggers mounted independently of the shafts, means associated with each shaft and one of the daggers for keeping said dagger depressed in an inoperative position as long as the binders are pressed outward alternately in the proper operation of the loom and by means of which said dagger is permitted to rise to an operative position when both binders are pressed outward in an improper operation of the loom, and means associated with said shafts and the other dagger by means of which said dagger is caused to be depressed to an inoperative position when the binders are pressed outward alternately in the proper operation of the loom, said dagger also being depressed when both binders are pressed outward but which is caused to rise to an operative position when both binders are pressed inward in an improper operation of the loom.

6. A loom having a lay, shuttle boxes and binders; two shafts each having a finger, a binder adjacent to each finger, a'pair of daggers mounted independently of said shafts, means on both shafts adapted to hold one dagger in a depressed position, and means also on said shafts adapted to move the other dagger alternately during the op eration of the loom.

7. In a loom, knock-off mechanism combined with the lay of the loom comprising two shafts each with a finger, binders with which each of the fingers coacts, a pair of daggers mounted independently of the shafts, means carried by each shaft and being alternately movable therewith adapted to maintain one of the daggers in an inoperative position while the loom is in operation, and other means carried by said shafts operating alternately with said shafts and being adapted. to cause alternate depressions of the other dagger to an inoperative position while the loom is in op eration.

8. In a loom, a knock-ofi mechanism combined with the lay, comprising two shafts, a pair of daggers, means by which the daggers are mounted independently of said shafts one dagger being fixed to said means the other being loose thereon, means carried by each shaft and by the dagger mounting means to maintain the fixed dagger in an inoperative position during alternate turnings of the shafts, and means carried by each shaft adapted to move the other dagger to an inoperative position at each of said alternate turnings.

9. In a loom, a knock-off mechanism combined with the lay having two shafts each with a finger, binders with which each coacts, a pair of daggers, means by which they are carried independently of said shafts, means on each of the shafts coacting with means on said carrying means to keep one of the daggers in an inoperative position during all movements of the shafts excepting a concerted movement of said shafts in a predetermined direction, means carried by both shafts adapted to move the other dagger into an inoperative position at all movements of said shafts excepting a concerted movement in the opposite direction, and means on said carrying means extending within reach and contact of both of the last moving means to support said other dagger in said inoperative position.

10. In a loom, a knock-01f mechanism combined with a lay having two shafts each with a finger, binders with which each finger coacts, a dagger shaft supported inclependently of said shafts, a pair of daggers carried by said shafts one being fixed thereon the other being loose, a rocker at each end of the dagger shaft, cams on the shafts each coacting with a rocker and being adapted to maintain the fixed dagger in an inoperative position while the other cam departs from the other rocker in a movement of the corresponding shaft by virtue of a displacement of the corresponding finger, means tending to keep said rockers in engagement with said cams, other cams on said shafts coacting with the loose dagger, a flange carried by said dagger having a wedge broad enough to cover both cams so that the loose dagger may be moved to an inoperative position upon a certain movement of either of said shafts, means tending to hold said shafts against said movement, and means tending to keep said wedge in engagement with said last cams.

JOHN FREDRIC LEHMAN. JAMES WILLIAM MODANIEL 

